The station was first opened by the South Eastern Railway on 1 September 1866 as Eltham for Mottingham.

The goods yard on the down side to the west of the platforms included a large coal office.

A three-storey high substation was built next to the station when the Dartford Loop Line was electrified in 1926.

On 19 March 1946 the station was the location of a fatal accident when an electric passenger train collided with a stationary light engine that was waiting to move into the sidings.

The up side ticket office has a mixture of structures, the white clapboard dating from the original station of 1866, with brown brick construction of 1957 and sliding doors installed in 1988.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[10] Additional services, including trains to and from London Cannon Street via either Lewisham, or via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich, and to London Blackfriars call at the station during the peak hours.